Thief Emperor

Chapter 710: Bow down and admit your inferiority
In late autumn and early winter, the bleak autumn wind sweeps across the entire Central Plains.

At this time, the ground inside and outside Chenzhou City was covered with fallen leaves. Occasionally, a stronger wind blew, and many yellow leaves were blown away, dancing in the wind.

Outside Chenzhou City, Li Yun, dressed in a pure black robe, was looking at a green carriage approaching him.

The carriage moved very slowly. After a long time, it squeaked and stopped in front of Li Yun. A corner of the carriage curtain was lifted, and a white-haired old man was sitting inside.

The old man saw Li Yun standing outside the carriage through the curtain, and soon he lowered his head and got off the carriage.

Li Yun looked at him, and he was also looking at Li Yun.

After a long while, the old man finally heaved a long sigh: "My dear brother, you are still so young and vigorous."

Li Yun then smiled and said, "Now, can you still be called my elder brother?"

"It's up to you."

The old man laughed at himself and said, "Now, my brother is the King of Wu. According to the rules, I should kowtow to you."

The smile on Li Yun's face faded. He carefully looked at the "old man" in front of him whose hair was nearly half white, and said softly: "I haven't seen you for a few years. The general has really aged."

At this time, the only person who could come to see Li Yun and be called the general was naturally the governor of Pinglu, General Zhou Xuzhou.

The last time Li Yun met Zhou Xu, General Zhou's hair was almost completely black and he looked very energetic, except that his steps were a little unsteady.

And now, after several years, Zhou Xu has become very old.

Hearing the title of "General", Zhou Xu frowned, then looked at Li Yun and smiled: "My dear brother, you got a great advantage in the battle of Jiangbei last year. Why do you still hold a grudge after getting an advantage?"

Li Yun put his hands behind his back and led Zhou Xu into Chenzhou City, then said with a smile: "The general is also a leader. At that time, our army was strong and powerful. The best thing to do was not to rashly attack Jingxiang, but to go north and compete with the Pinglu Army. This way, we would have no worries at all and could fight wherever we wanted."

"But you and I had the Fengyang Alliance, the covenant with heaven, and I kept my word and never went north. What was the result?"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "In the end, the general stabbed me in the back. At that time, I told the Pinglu Army that the Fengyang Alliance was no longer valid."

"Moreover, the result in Jiangbei last year does not affect the cause."

He looked at Zhou Xu and said softly, "General, you don't really think that I care about this generation and being the uncle of the Zhou family's junior general, do you?"

Zhou Xu remained silent for a long time before he sighed, "If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "If we were in the same situation, if I were the governor of Pinglu, I would probably also march south to Jiangbei, but I am different from the general."

He raised his head slightly.

"I won't lose."

Zhou Xu took a deep breath and looked up at Li Yun.

"If I have a way to catch you now, given Zhou's temper, I will hack you to death."

Li Yun laughed: "I believe this, the general is indeed like this. Didn't Gu Wenchuan die in the hands of the general back then?"

Zhou Xu suddenly stopped, he looked up and stared at Li Yun with a fierce look in his eyes.

obviously.

Even with his shrewdness and cultivation, he was a little "broken" at this moment.

After all, the Pinglu Army is now in a passive position everywhere, which is largely related to the death of Gu Wenchuan.

Zhou Xu has been in a high position for many years. Even if he has no followers at this moment, if he suddenly gets angry, ordinary people would probably be frightened by his aura, but Li Yun just stood there quietly with a faint smile on his face.

The two sides are of equal status, and Li Yun has the upper hand, so he naturally won't be scared by a little old man like Zhou Xu.

"General, there is no need to act like this."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Mr. Gu and I have a history. If I don't seek revenge on the general, is it possible that I can't bring it up?"

Zhou Xu groaned and whispered, "Revenge?"

"Pei Huang said that Gu Wenchuan's death was planned by you and plotted against me!"

"fart."

Li Yun retorted without any hesitation.

"At that time, I was still messing around in Yuezhou and Wuzhou. Why did I order Mr. Gu to go to Qingzhou and let you kill him? At that time, who could have thought of what would happen later, and what would happen today?"

"Pei judges others by his own standards."

Li Yun said coldly: "Damn it!"

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun and smiled: "This is the first time I see you get angry."

Li Yun curled his lips and didn't take it seriously.

General Zhou put his hands behind his back and continued walking forward: "My hair has only turned white this year."

He looked at Li Yun and continued, "It was after the battle in Jiangbei last year." Li Yun glanced at him and said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. Why does the general care so much about it?"

At this time, the two of them just walked into Chenzhou City, and General Zhou looked around.

There were already quite a few pedestrians coming and going in Chenzhou City, and occasionally one could hear hawking. It was obvious that this city had not been affected too much by the war. It was not only quite normal now, but even more prosperous than before.

After all, Li Yun's headquarters is here, part of the Jiangdong Army is also stationed here, and there are almost no major changes in the officials of Chenzhou.

This city is basically normal.

Zhou Xu looked at the city with envy in his eyes. He did not directly answer Li Yun's question, but said: "What I envy most is your ability to govern a region. Wherever you go, you can turn it into your own territory."

Li Yun said calmly: "If the general had not killed Mr. Gu in the first place, perhaps this would have been possible."

Zhou Xu's face darkened once again, but he had no way to vent his anger, so he could only force himself to hold it in and change the subject: "My hair turned white not because of the war in Jiangbei, but after that war, I could no longer see any hope for Qingzhou's future."

"After returning to Qingzhou, I spent all day with women."

At this point, Zhou Xu's expression darkened: "Some time ago, I even lost the desire to be with women."

After hearing this, Li Yun finally understood that "Zhou Yaozi", who had been sleeping with women for most of his life, was probably "no longer able to do it".

At his age, it is rare for him to have fought for so many years.

"I've heard about what happened in Xuzhou these days, and I've been so quiet that I'm eager to take a walk."

Having said that, Zhou Xu finally got to the point of his trip.

That is Xuzhou, which is in the midst of a standoff.

When Li Yun heard this, a faint smile appeared on his face. Just then, they walked to the door of a restaurant. Li Yun took General Zhou to the private room on the second floor and sat down at the table.

After Zhou Xu sat down, Li Yun looked at him and said, "General, I am moving Xuzhou not because I have to fight to the death with Qingzhou, but because I will soon compete with the Shuofang Army. Under this circumstance, your Pinglu Army is behind me."

Mr. Li lowered his head and drank his tea and said, "I can't sleep."

"After all, you stabbed me in the back last year."

Zhou Xu lowered his head to drink and laughed at himself: "Isn't this old man here to reassure you, brother?"

He looked at Li Yun and said slowly: "The Pinglu Army will not interfere in the fight between your Jiangdong Army and Shuofang Army. I will put it more bluntly."

"If you, Li Er, take over the Central Plains, my father and I will bow down to you and acknowledge you as the winner when we meet you in the future."

"If you fail, you will continue to be divided in the future. Our two families are across the Huai River from each other, but we are still neighbors."

"Just mobilize the troops in the Central Plains, and the Pinglu Army will not move."

Li Yun looked at him and shook his head slightly: "Since the general has come to me in person, it means that the person in charge of Qingzhou is probably no longer the general."

"Then the general alone is not enough for me to trust Qingzhou."

Zhou Xu lowered his head, frowned and said nothing.

Li Yun continued with a smile and said, "To be honest, your son's talent is far inferior to that of the general. It is much better for me to have him in charge than for you, the general."

Speaking of his son, General Zhou raised his head, took a sip of wine, and said calmly: "When I was young, I was not as good as him. My dear brother, don't underestimate me."

“Some things don’t change as you age.”

Li Yun smiled and said, "I've seen him grow old since he was three years old."

These words made Zhou Xu frown again.

He raised his head and took another sip of wine, then stood up, bowed his head and clasped his fists towards Li Yun and said, "My dear brother, I was not kind to you during the battle in Jiangbei last year."

"I'll make amends to you."

Li Yun stood up, walked forward to support him, and then said with a smile: "I have already said that the Fengyang Alliance no longer exists. Since the Fengyang Alliance no longer exists, there is no right or wrong in the battle in Jiangbei last year."

Zhou Xu stood up, looked at Li Yun, and said slowly: "My dear brother, if you go east to take Qingzhou, Wei Quanzhong will definitely hit you in the back."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I am sure I can resist him."

Zhou Xu had no choice but to say, "Tell me your conditions."

"I want Xuzhou."

Li Yun said calmly: "Give me Xuzhou. I will station troops in Xuzhou and keep an eye on Qingzhou. Then I will feel relieved."

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun with a hoarse voice.

"Jointly station troops."

(End of this chapter)